Cessation
by pipsqueak07
Summary: Becca Fitzpatrick's Finale, from Patch's POV! :)
1. Chapter 1

**Kind of a short chapter, I know, but hey! Its my first time writing a fanfic :) I will hopefully get another chapter or two out this week! Be sure to leave reviews and follow the story if you want more!**

I was a little envious that Vee snatched my girl from me for the night, but I was glad that she could have a normal evening out with a friend. Me, I was spending this free time trying to cover the tracks of Hank's death. I had to do everything in my power to protect Nora. I had followed a couple of nephilim guys who were styled with the Black Hand brand but only one who looked ranked high enough to know more information, to a club off the coast. I was planning on waiting them out, because I could sense upwards of 20 nephils in the one building, but it appeared that they weren't going to leave anytime soon. _Gross._

It had been about 11 o'clock when I decided to check in. She picked up on the 3rd ring. "How was girls' night out?" I asked.

"If Vee had her way, we'd be here all night. All I can think about is bed."

 _You set yourself up for that one, Angel_ "We're sharing the same thought." I said, trying not to grin.

"You're thinking about bed too?" _She didn't catch the deeper meaning, so I tried again._

"I'm thinking about you in _my_ bed." As soon as I said it, I couldn't help but oblige to let the thoughts enter my head. I would wait as long as it takes, as long as she wanted to wait…

"My mom's waiting up, bad timing." She didn't sound too disappointed. "Can we meet tomorrow? We need to talk."

 _Ouch… That can't be good._ "That doesn't sound good." I heard her send a kiss through the phone and felt a tiny bit of relief pass over me.

"I missed you tonight" _I'm glad I wasn't the only one._

I smiled, but there was something I had to do. "The night's not over." I hinted. "After I finish up hereI could swing by your place. Leave your bedroom window unlocked." I had gotten so used to sneaking in through the window that it was like second nature to me now.

"What are you working on?" _She picked up on that, huh? Dang._

I sighed deeply before answering and I decided to leave out the gory details of what the rest on my night promised. "Surveillance" I stated firmly, not wanting to elaborate. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either.

"Sounds vague." She stated, unhappily. I looked up and there he was; the nephil I was tailing. He looked like he had just lost a big bet since he was slumping over kicking at rocks off the sidewalk. _Haha rookie._

"My target's on the move. I have to roll. I'll be there as soon as I can." With that, I hung up the phone. The nephil was moving pretty slow, so I decided to hang back a block and see where he went. When he got about half a mile away from the club, I swung off the motorcycle and followed him on foot. He wasn't moving at record speed or anything, so I quickly caught up. Catching him off guard, I grabbed his collar and jerked him into the nearest alley, pinning him up agaisnt the wall.

"What the hell dude?!" He tried to escape my grasp, but that only made me slam him up against the bricks harder. As the seconds rolled past, he realized that I wasn't there to do him any favors and he began to shake, looking around wildly for anything that could help him escape my hold.

"What do you know about the Black Hand's death?" I was staring right into his dark brown eyes and he looked away, afraid to face me directly. "What do you know about the Black Hand's Death?" I asked again, this time becoming more impatient.

"Nothing!" He cowered, ashamed of himself. "I-I haven't heard anything! All I know is that he left us empty handed, and the new leader is some girl named Nora!" Suddenly he stood a little taller and flashed a cocky smile. "She better watch her back though because everyone's angry. No one knows her or wants her as a leader even if she was the Blank Hand's daughter. If I find her, she can bet her sweet a-" I cut him off mid sentence with a blow to the head using a rock I picked up off the ground. He fell limp and fell to the ground. _I felt no sincereity for the guy. No one can talk about harming Nora, not while I'm breathing._ Before I walked away, I slipped the image into his mind that he passed out from too many drinks on his way home and forcing him to forget he even saw me. I pushed his dead weight body out of view from the street. If a human saw him, they would have taken him for dead. But sadly, he would be fine by sun rise. I walked back to the motorcycle and started up the engine. _It seems like no matter how many nephilim I question, no one knew a thing. Just as I'd hoped. We just have to keep it that way,_ I thought, forming a sinister grin. Slowly it changed to real happiness when I remembered where I was heading to now.


	2. Chapter 2

**There was so, so, so much commentary in this chapter! The next chapter is going to connect some things from the regular book in it, so be excited! Please review, follow, and favorite if you want to keep reading!**

I ditched the motorcycle about 10 miles back from the house and ran through the woods the rest of the way. With one hand, I lifted the window and slid inside. Nora looked so peaceful when she slept. I almost didn't want to disturb her, but at the same time I couldn't stop myself from slipping in beside her. I crossed my ankles and put my hands behind my head. She stirred beside me. "Not sure why you're so emamored with this bed. It's twelve inches too short, four inches too narrow, and the purple sheets aren't doing it for me." _I didn't actually have anything agaisnt purple, but she didn't need to know that._ "My bed, on the other hand…" I drifted off, leaving the rest up to her imagination.

She stared back at me with one eye, squinting. "Ha. I know you don't care how comfortable my bed is. You'd be fine on a pallet of bricks." _I wish I wouldn't fine on a pallet of bricks. I wanted more than anything to be able to feel Nora; to feel the way she felt when I touched her skin._

To change the subject, I leaned over and kissed her. I remembered what she said earlier tonight and asked, "What did you want to talk about?" While she was thinking I stroked her arm with my thumb and forefinger. Just having her near me made me feel better. When she struggled for words, I asked "When do I get to see these dance moves of yours?" I tried to pull on an innocent face and added, "We've ever gone dancing at the Devil's Handbag together." I leaned over to her and settled my forehead against her temple.

She frowned. "You aren't missing much, I was told tonight I'm definite fish-out-of-water material on the dance floor."

I leaned over and kissed her ear softly, whispering, "Vee needs to be nicer to you" _And me, but Vee still held onto her suspisions of me from this past year. I could see why, but she didn't need to take it out on my girl._ I lifted her hand out from under the covers and started a steady stream of kisses down her hand and to each finger.

"Vee doesn't get credit for that line," she quipped. "That would go to Dante Matterazzi." _Another nephil, whom I had the pleasure of meeting this morning. He had a charming mug, but there were too many secrets behind it to give him the benefit of the doubt. I hated the guy._

"Dante?" A hint of ice creeping into my tone. I didn't like him hanging around Nora. He was too persistant about going into war with my kind; the fallen.

"Did I forget to mention Dante was there?" She gave a nervous laugh and waited for a response. _It wasn't her fault Dante was annoying._

"What did he want?"

"Ah, now I remember what I wanted to talk to you about. Dante's trying to sell me to the Nephilim race _._ I'm their leader now." _Every time it was brought up my heart broke. Knowing if I had been there five minutes earlier, I could have stopped the vow. I could have saved her from this._ "Trouble is, they don't trust me. They don't know me. And Dante's made it his mission to change that." _Ugh. Why._

"Tell me something I don't know," I said, partly annoyed.

When she paused, I looked at her eyes, but she looked down at her hands. "Dante thinks it might be a good idea for me to, ah, date him." She glanced at me before almost shouting, "Don't worry!" _I'll KILL him!_ "It's all for show. Got to keep the Nephilim thinking their leader in invested. We're going to squash these rumors that I am dating a fallen angel. _Rumors? It IS the truth, Angel._ I could hardly hold back my anger. "Nothing says solidarity like hooking up with one of your own, you know? It makes for good press. They might even call us Norante. Or Danta. Do you like the sound of that?" She looked up to me in hopes of my approval.

I knew she was trying to make it better, but thinking about Nora with someone else awoke a deep menacing rage in me. "Actually, I don't like the sound of that."

"If its any consolation, I can't stand Dante" _Hmm, good to know._ "Don't sweat this"

"My girlfriend wants to date another guy, no sweat," I added sarcastically.

"It's for appearances. Look on the bright side…"

I laughed. Too angry to do anything else. "There's a bright side?" _There's no way she could even consider this option. There must be some other way._

"It's only through Cheshvan. Hank got Nephilim everywhere all worked up over this one moment. He promised them salvation, and they still think they're going to get it." _They wouldn't. There would always be more fallen angels. There would always be a Cheshvan._ "When Cheshvan comes, and ends up being like any other Cheshvan on record, they'll realize it was a crapshoot, and little by little, things will go back to normal. In the meantime, while tempers are running hot and the hopes and dreams of Nephilim are ahnging on the false belief that I can free them from fallen angels, we have to keep them happy." _We?_

I thought about what I would say for a moment and then responded. "Has it occurred to you that the Nephilim might blame you when their salvation doesn't come? Hank made a lot of promises, and when they arent fulfilled, no one's going to point fingers at him." I paused for half a second to look at her face, which was clearly thinking hard. "You're their leader now. You're the face on this campaign, Angel." _Which was, of course, to wipe out my entire race._

She looked up at the ceiling, searching, searching for a sign of what to do. We sat and comtemplated in silence for a couple minutes. _If I could stop all of this, I would. If I could take your pain away, I wouldn't hesitate._ Nora had shot Hank last night after he attempted so send me to hell. He had one of my feathers. I recalled the night that I offered my wings to him to keep Nora safe. I didn't regret my decision.

"What do we do about my oath? Dante said it went into effect when Hank died, but who determines if I keep it or not? Who determines what I can and can't do in terms of carrying out my oath? Take you, for instance. I'm confiding in you, a fallen angel and the sworn enemy of Nephilim." _This was true. All she had to do was stay in power to fulfill the oath._ "Won't the oath strike me dead for treason?" _Thankfully not._

I took a deep breath. "The oath you swore was about as vague as you could made it. Luckilly. As long as you stay in power and lead the Nephilim, I think you're within the terms of the oath. You never promised Hank you'd go to war."

"In other words, the plan is to stay out of war and keep the archangels happy." _Story of my life._

"Some things never change." I said, almost to myself.

"After Cheshvan, after the Nephilim give up on freedom, and after we've put a big, fat smile of contentment on the archangels' faces, we can put this behind us." She paused to look up and kiss me. "It'll just be you and me" _As soon as all of this was over, I would take her far away. Away from harm, away from archangels, away from Cheshvan._

I groaned, exclaiming, "It can't come fast enough."

Chaning the subject, she said, "Hey, listen, I was approched by a man tonight. A man who wants a word with you."

 _Pepper._ A nod. "Pepper Friberg". A short, stumpy archangel who would do anything to put me in hell. I vaguely remembered him from my days as an archangel. Another man I didn't want around Nora.

"Does Pepper have a face as round as a basketball?"

Nodding again, I said, "He's tailing me because he thinks I went back on an agreement we had." _An agreement not worth telling Nora about. She would just ask more questions._ "He doesn't want a word with me. He wants to chain me in hell and dust his hands of me.

"Is it just me, or does that sound kind of serious?" _Relax Angel. I will always be two, no three, steps ahead._

"Pepper Friberg is an archangel, but he's got his hand in more than one pot. He's leading a double life, spending half his time as an archangel, and the other half moonlighting as a human. Up until now, he's been living the best of both worlds. He has the power of an archangel, which he doesn't always use for good while indulging in human vices. Somenoe has figured out his crooked game, and word has it they're blackmailing him. If Pepper doesn't pay up soon, his vacation time on Earth is going to become a lot more permanent." When she looked at me in confusion, I elaborated. "The archangels will strip him of his power and tear out his wings if they find out what he's been up to. He'll be stuck down here for good.

I could tell that the wheels in her mind were turning. Then she looked at me with a mixture of shock and understanding in her dark grey eyes. "He thinks _you're_ blackmailing him."

 _I guess she should know._ Another sigh escaped me. "A while back I figured out what he was up to. I agreed to keep his secret, and in return he agreed to help me get my hands on a copy of the Book of Enoch. He hasn't delivered on his promise, and it seems logical that he thinks I'm feeling hung out to dry. But I think he must have been careless and there's another fallen angel out there looking to benefit off his misdeeds."

"Did you tell Pepper that?"

I smiled at her naivety. "Working on it. He's not feeling very talkative." _More like I wasn't feeling like being chained in hell, at the moment._

"He said he'll burn down all of Delphic if that's what it takes to smoke you out" _He wouldn't dare get close to Delphic since that's where fallen angels all over make their home, b_ _ut if he was getting that desperate, it might not be such a bad idea to think about finding a new place._

"His neck's on the line and he's getting desperate. I might have to go under."

"Go under?"

"Lie low. Keep my head down." _At least until I could figure out who the real blackmailer was._

She propped herself up on one elbow and tried to read my expression. "How do I fit into this picture?" _Here's where it gets tough._

"He thinks you're his one way ticket to me. He's going to be sticking to you like spandex. He's parked down the street as we speak, eyes peeled for my car." _Well, motorcycle, but same concept._ I touched her cheeck with my thumb, trying to confort her. "He's good, but not good enough to keep me from having time with my girl." _Not Pepper, not Hank, not anyone was good enough to keep me from Nora anymore._

"Promise me you're always going to be two steps ahead," She said, but it sounded more like a question to me.

"Don't worry, Angel. I've been doing this sneaky stuff longer."


End file.
